The ever increasing demand for freshwater has taken its toll, and California’s reservoirs are only at 46.4% of their capacity. Now, by using imagery provided by the Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 satellites, we can also see how the reservoirs have changed during the 21st century.

The Hague, 16 November 2016 • Today, Ms Sigrid Kaag, Dutch top diplomat working for the United Nations, received the Carnegie Wateler Peace Prize 2016 during an official ceremony at the Peace Palace. The Carnegie Foundation, which owns and manages the Peace Palace, has awarded this peace prize to Ms Kaag for her successful efforts in accomplishing sensitive and dangerous missions in the Middle East. The Board of the Carnegie Foundation lauded her dedication and personal approach. She is held in particularly high esteem for her ability to bring unity. The Chairman of the Foundation, Mr Bernard Bot, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, commented her remarkable talent in bringing parties together and to consensus, adding that »Ms. Kaag does not think in problems, but encourages parties to act«.

Before the Flood presents a riveting account of the dramatic changes now occurring around the world due to climate change. The film shows Leonardo DiCaprio visiting various regions of the globe exploring the impact of man-made global warming. As a narrator, DiCaprio comments these encounters as well as archive footages. DiCaprio repeatedly references a 15th-century triptych by Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, which he uses as an analogy of the present course of the world toward potential ruin as depicted on its final panel. DiCaprio’s comments and inquiries focus extensively on climate change denial, mostly among corporate lobbyists and politicians of the United States.

For the first time during a UNFCCC Conference of Parties a special day was devoted to action on water issues, as a way of providing solutions to help implement the Paris Agreement. Seven of the ten countries most threatened by climate change are in Africa. Water is the first sector through which the African population suffers from the impact of climate change — this is the case not only in Africa, but all around the world.

Unnerved by the prospect of a parched Iran where internal and external conflicts on water resources would be unavoidable, Abbas Araqchi, who served as top nuclear negotiator with great powers, has called for a more active and creative hydro-politics. The average annual precipitation in Iran is nearly 220 millimeters, and has decreased by 10–15% over the past decade, according to Araqchi. Meager annual rainfalls, coupled with rapid population growth and sprawling cities, have put the geo-politically strategic Middle East country in a precarious situation, where the threat of water conflicts looms large.

For almost a quarter of a century, UN deputy secretary general Jan Eliasson has been an indefatigable champion of the right to water and sanitation for all. »Politicians lack long-term planning«, he says. »They look at budgetary needs now but don’t see the larger picture. But they must look beyond their mandate periods. Ministers of finance should have responsibility for the long-term effects of public expenditure. [...] Water and sanitation cannot drop off the agenda now. There is such a commitment to it. You have the development community, the World Bank and the big development banks, but also the scientific and health communities along with civil society, and philanthropists all backing it.«

With continuing growth of population and conflicts, we see also an increase in displacement. Increasingly linkages are made between displacement, migration, refugee flows and climate change, which is often linked to water-related problems. These nowadays almost automatic linkages with climate change do not always have a sound foundation, based on science, monitoring and real-world data. SIWI has just published a very good Working Paper, that is spot-on: »Water, migration and how they are interlinked«.

On Friday 25 November 2016 the Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance (SCELG) will be organising a half day event titled »Groundwater Governance Lost in Translation«. Groundwater governance will be discussed from a multidisciplinary perspective (international law, economics, international relations, development and hydrogeology). In addition we will have distinguished speakers providing insights about groundwater governance in California, Scotland, Uruguay and Malawi.

Stockholm, 1 September 2016 • Today, during the World Water Week in Stockholm, Transboundary Water Management and the Climate Change Debate has been announced to be the International Water Resources Book of the Year 2015. After due consideration of more than 100 books about international hydrology and water resources, we are happy to announce that «Transboundary Water Management and the Climate Change Debate» has been awarded the title International Water Resources Book of the Year 2015.

The Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP), which is co-sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Global Water Partnership (GWP) and some 30 other partners, has released a «Handbook of Drought Indicators and Indices».